We're working hard on 1.6, so nobody has had time to put together a Debian package for 1.5.3. However, some kind volunteer who is definitely not me has posted an unofficial Arch package to the AUR. You can also always compile from source. Here is the 1.5.3 branch. Instructions are in the README file.

I was able to compile the 1.5.3 branch on Linux, and it ran, but it was unable to connect to my Makerbot Replicator 2x. 1.5.0 is able to connect. Some functions are a little buggy, but for the most part it works, which is great considering the Makerware Desktop (a) runs on Ubuntu 14.04 but not on the latest 16.04, and (b) runs on Windows 7 but crashes on Windows 10. I turned to MC as a much-sought-after open-source method to control the printer.